Flavors
by systematic honey
Summary: a collection of one-shots & drabbles. gen & heine/naoto.
1. clean

i'm sorry. this one's a whopper. i'd like to thank you in advance for reading this monster of a one-shot.

* * *

**#1**; clean.  
heine/naoto.  
safe.  
word count 2500+

* * *

Naoto was never fond of movie-style romances. Rather, she wasn't fond of anything that had to do with romance in the first place.

Occasionally on a slow, rainy day Badou would pop one of his countless movies from his collection into the old vhs player that the bishop kept in the church, inviting anyone in the vicinity to join him in killing time. Oftentimes Nill would be eager to watch, thus dragging both Naoto and Heine in and forcing them to endure many a b-movie to keep her company.

It wasn't that Naoto _disliked_ watching these films... it was just that they were so unrealistic, an escape from reality that she wasn't sure she was willing to take. Naoto was a determined, focused woman, and she was uncomfortable straying from her path and the goals she set for herself. However, for Nill's sake, she watched. And wondered.

Why did movies always have to portray scenes of sadness with rain?

She couldn't help but notice how almost every movie she watched coincided rain with the characters' unhappy feelings, whether they just broke up with a loved one or lost a fight, or if everything in their world seemed hopeless.

She supposed it was because of its association with tears, but Naoto still wasn't very pleased with how frequently she saw this in movies.

In her mind, rain was cleansing. Rain meant new life. Rain meant a fresh start, a way to wash off the dirt and grime of yesterday. There was nothing she liked more than waking up to raindrops falling on her apartment's windowsill, blurring her vision of the tainted city below.

In the rain, Naoto was in her own world. Under her umbrella, people would leave her alone, eager to get inside their buildings and stay dry. In the rain, Naoto felt ( almost ) unburdened; ( almost ) at peace.

It was a much more calming feeling to her than a sunny day.

The movie's orchestral music swelled to a climax, snapping Naoto out of her thoughts. She watched the screen as the two lovers embraced and kissed underneath a clear blue sky, and her brow furrowed ever-so-slightly. She glanced over at Nill, seated next to her. The young girl's knees were drawn up, and she was hugging her legs tightly, with a dreamy expression on her face as she watched the end credits roll. She beamed and leaned against Naoto, clearly happy with how the movie turned out.

Naoto smiled warmly, letting the girl lean against her and thinking about how nice it must be to enjoy movies as much as Nill did. She briefly wondered if she would have been the same, if things had been different...

It was getting very late; the movie had lasted longer than they had expected. After saying good night to Nill, Naoto made her way to the church entrance. She paused for a moment when she approached the door, noticing a patch of white among the dark wooden pews. It seemed that Heine was planning on staying a while longer.

She frowned, not really dwelling on the assumption much longer. She didn't feel like saying goodbye to him, so she decided that the best option was to ignore him. Turning to the coat rack to take her things, Naoto was met with a sudden unpleasant surprise: her umbrella was missing.

She stood there, frozen, for a minute. She was sure she came in with an umbrella; it had been raining all day. Was it hidden behind one of the other coats? Naoto moved them aside hurriedly, looking behind every one of them.

Nothing.

She must have made more noise than she thought, because the sound of wood creaking behind her signaled that Heine had gotten up from the pew. Naoto continued to search fruitlessly for her umbrella, ignoring the heavy sound of his boots on the stone floor as he approached her.

"Something wrong?"

Naoto turned to face him, a small frown plastered on her face by default.

"It's nothing," she said shortly. Letting her pride get the best of her, she pulled on her coat and wrapped her scarf tightly, heading towards the door. The last thing she wanted to do was stay until the rain let up; she was too tired to deal with what Heine might say to her.

"You know it's raining, right?"

Naoto froze right as she was about to grip the door's handle. Too late. She decided to think quickly.

"My place isn't that far away. It won't be a problem --"

"You aren't just going to let the lady walk alone in the rain, are you Heine?"

The two of them both turned to find none other than the blind bishop approaching them, grinning pointedly at his "younger brother".

"What are you talking about," Heine said flatly, furrowing his brow.

"I mean, the gentlemanly thing to do in this situation would be to offer the lovely woman a walk home, seeing as how she has no umbrella at the moment." Ernest's grin widened, and he leaned forward on his cane.

Naoto, unable to find words, immediately shook her head at the thought. Heine did the same.

"You forget that I'm _not_ a gentleman." he coldly stated. Naoto's frown deepened.

"I'll be fine, really. I was saying that my apartment isn't that far from here. A little rain won't be a problem." Heine nodded in response to this.

The priest's cheerful expression faded, and he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Ah, I see. Well, that is unfortunate for you, Heine.' he waved goodbye and turned to walk away.

"Nill will be so disappointed when she finds out tomorrow. Anyway, good night, Miss Naoto!"

Heine and Naoto stared after him for a moment, watching him walk slowly back to his quarters.

After a few seconds, she heard him make a frustrated growl. Heine brushed past her to hastily grab his coat and umbrella, grumbling to himself and muttering "Come on."

At first Naoto was unsure of what he meant. She stood there, slightly confused, until he grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her out the heavy wooden doorway.

The rain hadn't sounded quite as severe as it really was from inside the church. Fast, heavy droplets fell from the dark clouds overhead, pouring over the city's streets and staining its rugged sidewalks an even shadier gray. The loud rattling of raindrops on metal drowned out much of the normal evening sounds of the city.

Naoto instinctively covered her head with her scarf; within a few seconds it was already soaked. As she was about to head back into the church, the tapping of rain against the top of her head suddenly ceased.

She looked over her shoulder and was surprised to see that Heine was, in fact, holding his umbrella over her. His white hair was plastered to his face, which held an irritated and begrudging expression while avoiding her gaze. He was still standing in the rain.

"Ah..." was all she could say. An uncomfortable silence followed. Only the sound of water against pavement echoed in their ears.

"Which way... is your place." Heine shifted uneasily in the rain, still trying to avoid looking at her. Naoto, on the other hand, could only stare blankly at him.

"It's... two blocks east... of here..." she told him. It almost felt like the words were coming out on their own, like it wasn't really her saying them.

" 's that so," he mused halfheartedly. "Let's hurry this up, then." he nodded his head in no particular direction, signaling her to start walking.

Naoto complied, moving forward out on to the church steps. Heine followed a few steps behind her, covering her with the umbrella and getting even more soaked in the process.

After the first few steps, she stopped and turned to face him. He came to a halt at the same time, keeping his distance. Frowning up at him, Naoto grasped the umbrella at a point higher than his hand and boldly walked up to the same step as him.

Though the two of them had been in close proximity before, the sudden movement caused Heine to let go of the umbrella and take a step back into the rain. "What are you--?"

"I'll hold it for myself," she sighed. "I don't like you following behind me."

Heine laughed harshly, grimacing. "Now you know how I felt."

Naoto shot an irritated glare up at him, and he returned it. They remained in their little staring contest for a good 30 seconds before Naoto finally looked away, back out at the street.

"If you want to stay in the rain, go ahead. But this umbrella has... more than enough room for both of us." she wasn't really sure why she was saying this, but it was true; Heine's umbrella was a bit larger than a standard one-person model. It wasn't like they had to be too close to each other in order to share it.

"Tch. Whatever," he scoffed. Naoto sighed yet again, and continued her descent down the steps.

When she got to the sidewalk, she felt his presence become closer than before. Looking to her right, she realized that Heine was now underneath the umbrella, maybe half a pace behind her. He was staring pointedly at the ground, with a furrowed brow and his hands in his pockets. Though this puzzled her, Naoto decided to say nothing, and continued walking on the way to her apartment.

At about the halfway point, Heine broke the silence.

"Were you watching that movie?"

Naoto didn't speak for a moment, wondering why he would ask such a question. When she looked back on it, she really wasn't paying attention to the movie most of the time. She had been thinking about... other things. She shook her head.

"Were you?"

"Yeah," he replied shortly. "Nill likes to ask me questions about that stuff sometimes."

"I see." she said stiffly. She hadn't had this kind of conversation with Heine before. It made her feel uneasy.

"...You didn't answer the question. Were you watching it?"

Naoto slowly came to a stop, turning to face him. She stared at him with a mixed expression of curiosity and frustration. He stared right back, blankly.

"Why does it matter?" she asked. In the back of her mind, she recalled that she had never been the one to talk much in their conversations before. Why start now?

There was a pause. Heine continued to look at her square in the eyes, with no readable expression on his face.

"It... doesn't." he said eventually.

It wasn't a satisfying answer in the least, but Naoto was too frustrated with his odd attitude to really care for one. Turning back around, she continued onward towards her home.

The rain only grew worse as the two got closer to their destination. It was falling in heavy sheets now, slowly flooding the grimy streets and gushing out of drainage pipes like waterfalls. Naoto was thankful that there was no wind to accompany it; she would be completely soaked if it came from any direction other than straight above them.

She finally came to a stop at her building's entrance where, thankfully, there was a small awning to take cover under. Grateful to finally be home, Naoto handed the umbrella over to Heine. She managed a small "thank you" in the process, feeling incredibly awkward and unsure of what to do next. He nodded.

She stood there in front of him in silence for a moment, wondering why he didn't just turn around and leave immediately.

"Ah... about that movie," he started, shifting a bit and looking to his right, "I wanted to ask you if you thought it was... I don't know. Weird."

Naoto had no idea what he was talking about. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," he said as his brow furrowed, "That one scene. In the rain."

The rain?

"I... don't remember it," Naoto said quickly, hoping that he would drop the subject and let her be.

Heine looked up at her, both annoyed and confused.

"The couple in the movie walked home in the rain. They shared an umbrella, because the girl lost hers."

Naoto grimaced as she made the connection. She sighed heavily and shook her head.

"Does that mean you think this might have been... set up?"

"Most likely," Heine closed his eyes and pushed his hair out of his eyes, massaging his forehead in the process. "I'll bet that shady priest had something to do with it."

Naoto crossed her arms in irritation. "What did he think was going to happen? Why would he..."

Heine smirked bitterly. "You really didn't watch the scene, did you?"

She didn't answer him. He moved under the awning and out of the rain, lowering the umbrella.

"You don't know how it ended."

He stepped closer. Naoto still didn't speak, her arms still crossed and her face still darkened with a frown. Their eyes met, and she felt a shiver crawl up her spine. She told herself it was from the cold.

"Their first kiss."

He said it matter-of-factly, with that crooked smirk remaining on his face. He always looked like that when he told her something she wouldn't like. It was as if he was mocking her. That smile made Naoto wanted to pull out her knife and stab him, right then and there. Sadly, she remembered, it wouldn't matter; he would just heal instantly and laugh at her.

She remained silent, glaring daggers at him instead. He looked to the right, seeming to recall something.

"In the rain... The perfect place to start something new."

Naoto's head tilted slightly in confusion.

"That's a quote from the movie," Heine told her. "Do you think it's true?"

For a while, she still didn't say anything. Eventually, the words formed slowly in her mind, and she analyzed every one of them before speaking.

"I do..." she started, looking at the ground instead of at him. "When it rains, it... feels like the past doesn't matter. That it's... getting washed away. Everything bad, everything painful... it goes away for a while."

Naoto had never thought she'd say these thoughts out loud, let alone to someone like _him_. She'd shared her past before, but sharing this was something entirely different. It felt too personal.

"A clean slate, huh?" he summarized. "Something new..."

His voice was getting closer. Naoto looked up, and found that he had moved in further, his face only a few inches from hers. She froze. She felt his eyes scanning hers, uncertain, indecisive. She held her breath.

"I..."

The steam from his breath circled around them and disappeared into the cold air. Naoto was suddenly highly aware of how cold it was, and how she faintly felt Heine's body heat radiating from him. She shivered again.

At long last, he backed away. Without the cover of the awning, Heine raised his umbrella and muttered, "I'll see you around."

Naoto nodded silently. She quickly turned and opened the door, heading into the warm, dry building. Thankfully, there was no one to greet her in the foyer. As the heavy door closed behind her, she leaned against it and finally breathed in. The warmth of being inside flooded over her, and she felt a soothing heat rise up all the way to her cheeks.

For some time, Naoto just stared fixedly at the old tile floor, her heart thumping steadily against her chest, and her eyes only seeing white and red.


	2. sample

first of all, i'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed so far :) you're all too kind.  
second, i switched the first two 'chapters' around on 2.16.2010. so no, you're not going crazy. it's all my fault.

* * *

**#2**; sample.  
heine/naoto.  
safe.  
word count 300+

* * *

The first time he kissed her, she had just finished eating an apple.

He could still taste the crisp sweetness on her lips when he made contact, feeling her mouth open in shock and her breath catch in her throat. He thought he heard her start to mumble something, but her mouth was covered before she could finish. It probably wasn't anything important anyway, he thought.

It was a brief kiss, nothing too forceful or aggressive. It took all his concentration to hold back, to not bite or wound her by instinct. He focused all of his attention on his senses. He could feel her soft lips on his, smell the faint traces of gun smoke on her hair, and taste that fresh red delicious apple still lingering there.

To him, it was an experiment. He wanted to know what it was like. He wanted to confirm his feelings, to really see if he was...

He pulled away slowly, still feeling her breath on his face as she looked up at him with a mixed expression. Her eyes were wide, her brow was furrowed, her cheeks were tinged pink, and her mouth was slightly open. Her eyes revealed a thousand thoughts passing through her mind, all quick and fleeting. He couldn't read any of them.

For a moment he just stood there, staring blankly. This was the first time he had looked at her without the screen of a frown. He realized that he really did like the way her dark hair framed her pale face. He really did like the color of her eyes, the smoothness and hue of her skin. She was nothing like him, and he took an odd sort of comfort in that.

Lost in her features, and not really thinking clearly, he leaned forward again...

...and was met with the sharp sting of her palm connecting with the side of his face.


	3. sugar

you can stop laughing at the title of this 'chapter' now. :c  
i apologize for flooding anyone's inbox with 'story alert +' emails 8|  
this has got to be the most fic i've ever written in such a short period of time.

anyway, enjoy. or not. y'know.

* * *

**#3**; sugar.  
nill.  
safe.  
word count 750+

* * *

Nill never had much experience with people her age.

Even before she met Heine, her interactions with other humans ( could she even call them that? ) like her were few and far between. _They_ kept her in a room alone. She wasn't allowed to make friends then; she was, after all, an object to _them_. She was nothing more than a source of revenue. Small, insignificant. Disposable.

But Nill doesn't like to dwell on the past. Her present is much more important, much more meaningful now. She has real friends now, a real _family_ of people who care for her. She couldn't be happier.

She still wonders, though, what it would be like to befriend someone who wasn't grown-up. She wonders what it would be like to grow up _with_ someone else. She often observes the other children at church with their parents, or the children like her at Granny Liza's place. However, none of them approach her, and out of shyness, she doesn't approach them either. All she can do is imagine.

---

She's walking ahead of Heine and Naoto, who are having a conversation she can barely hear. She doesn't really pay attention what they're saying; she's just glad that they seem to be getting along. She smiles, secretly hoping that Heine will find another girl to be close to, and that Naoto will find another person to confide in. She had been worried about the two of them since they met, afraid that she'd always be caught in the middle. She hates seeing them glare at each other, since she knows that they're both good people at heart. Why did they have to clash?

Suddenly there's a sharp, familiar _clang_ behind her, and she turns to see them both hiding something behind their backs. _Are they... fighting?_ she thinks, staring back at them questioningly.

Before she has time to go back and investigate ( and scold them if they really were fighting ), Nill spots a familiar redhead sprinting towards the two. Her eyes widen as she realizes there's a car speeding right behind him. She tries to signal this to Heine and Naoto, but it all happens too fast.

She hears Badou scream for help, the screeching of tires, and the sounds of gunshots and metal grating against metal. She sees a blur of red hurrying towards her, and the flashes of Heine's guns and Naoto's knives glinting in the sunlight. She feels Badou shove her away from the path of the car, and the hard pavement as she stumbles to the ground.

---

She's still in a bit of a daze as Granny Liza looks her over later on, tut-tutting at her dusty clothes and disheveled hair. At the mention of a new dress, Nill lightens up and becomes a bit more focused.

She turns to see who Granny Liza instructed to take her upstairs, and her eyes widen as she realizes it's a young boy. He is a little taller than her, and very normal-looking, aside from the single horn protruding from behind his left ear. When he looks at her, his cheeks turn red and she notices his companion grin over at him.

The boy gets up and motions for Nill to follow him. She does so, briefly turning to wave goodbye to her two friends. She can't help but start to smile.

As they reach the second floor, he turns to address her.

"H-Hi. I'm Yora," he stammers, hands in his pockets. His cheeks are still a bit pink.

Nill smiles at him, stepping forward to take his arm. She carefully writes N-I-L-L on his palm with her forefinger, hoping that he'll understand the message.

"N...i...ll," he says slowly, "Nill."

She looks up at him, and is relieved to find that he's smiling as well. She notices that he has a cute, reluctant smile, kind of like Heine's. For that alone, she likes him already.

"Um, the bath is over there," he tells her, pointing to a door at the end of the hallway. "I'll tell Wanya and Kashya you're here."

She nods and smiles wide. He blushes again, rubbing the back of his neck. Before turning around to go back downstairs, he smiles weakly at her once more.

"I-It was nice to meet you, Nill."

And in an instant, he's running back down the stairs hurriedly, making loud thumping noises and causing Granny to start yelling at him from the entrance.

Nill giggles silently and heads to the end of the hall, a little bounce in her step and a hint of pink tinting her cheeks.


	4. spice

jfskhg this is kind of a sequel to 'sample'. it has no real relation to 'sugar'....  
once again, thank you for the reviews. they make me feel like i'm not such a loser for writing this ;w;  
btw this one bumps the rating up to T. derp.

i hope you like it.

* * *

**#4**; spice.  
heine/naoto.  
safe +  
word count 375+

* * *

The second time around, _she_ kisses _him_.

As she leans over the wooden pew and tentatively connects her lips to his, she wonders why she feels so compelled to do so. Maybe it's just because she can't get rid of him, and he her. Maybe it's because ever since they met, she can't go anywhere without being reminded of him. Maybe it's because they're stuck with each other, because it's fate. Maybe this is the inevitable conclusion to two souls whose destinies were entwined. Cosmic forces were at work, incapable of being changed.

Or maybe she's just developing feelings for him.

He's taken by surprise at first, woken from his nap. As soon as he's realized what's going on, however, he starts to kiss back. He's much bolder this time around, and he gently pulls her closer by her arm. Soon enough, she's sitting on his lap and her hands have moved to his shoulders. She kisses him harder, the familiar taste of Buon Viaggio's coffee greeting her as her tongue glides over his lips.

One of his hands moves up her arm and over her shoulder, and he strokes the back of her neck. When his hand rests there, she feels oddly secure. It feels to her like a comforting gesture, reassurance that what they're doing is just... right.

When she pulls away to breathe, his lips migrate to her jaw line, then to the base of her neck. He's only touching her skin lightly, not even really kissing, but the sensation sends chills up her spine and she feels goose bumps form on her arms. Before she can stop herself, she softly whispers his name.

He suddenly stops and stares up at her, a look of mild surprise and confusion in his dark red eyes. She realizes that she has the same expression, mirrored in his eyes, and she feels an uncomfortable heat rise to her face.

She hastily pushes herself away from him and off the pew, fixing her wrinkled skirt and grabbing her coat. As soon as she stands and picks up her katana, she frowns and shoots him a dirty look.

"You weren't supposed to kiss me back."

He merely leans back in his seat and smirks up at her. At this she turns on her heel and grudgingly walks away, infuriated and flustered.


	5. connection

thank you all for the favorites and reviews. this drabble is thanks to one in particular, by 'unsawr' whose kind and constructive words gave me an interesting idea. thank you very much, i appreciate it immensely.

this will also probably be edited to hell, so i apologize in advance for that.

* * *

**#5**; connection.  
heine/naoto.  
safe.  
word count 400+

* * *

Her arm brushed against his, and he flinched.

He stepped farther from her as she turned to look at him, avoiding her piercing gaze but still feeling it drilling a hole into the back of his head. He scowled in response, maintaining his focus on the sidewalk in front of him.

This was the third time this week that she'd accidentally touched him.

The first time was a disaster. She'd been careless, a typical woman, and actually _reached out_ to wipe a spot of blood from his face. In a moment of panic he roughly grabbed her wrist, twisting it around, and had nearly broken it. He had felt the dog inside of him egging him on, but was able to resist it in time. Instead of apologizing, he told her she was an idiot.

The second time wasn't much better. It was early morning, and she had literally bumped into him on the way to the church. She was obviously half-asleep and not paying attention; she had lost her footing and attempted to steady herself, extending her arm towards him. He quickly evaded her, and had it not been for her sense of balance, she would have fallen forward ( and into him ). He told her to be more careful.

This time, with just the lightest contact, it was like he had been hit by a train. As soon as he felt her skin connect with his, his heart started pounding in his chest, and he could feel the blood pumping through more rapidly by the second. He tuned out the sound of static and sirens and the raspy voice of his in the back of his mind, trying his hardest to focus on the grimy gray pavement.

He could faintly hear her voice in the background, saying his name. After a while, with a great deal of effort, he stopped and turned to face her, expecting the worst.

"I'm sorry." she said. She was looking straight at him, not frowning but simply staring intently into his eyes.

It was strange. The static slowly faded, the sirens died out, and the voice of the dog became a faint echo. He no longer felt his heart pumping or his blood rushing through his veins. He hadn't looked at her the first two times, but now he wished he had. He stared back at her for a moment, before finally responding.

"Next time... warn me before you do that." he sighed, eventually looking away to continue onward.

As he walked farther away, he still felt her watching him.

But this time it felt much less oppressive.


End file.
